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Too early to assess soggy tomatoes

Tomato crops in Bowen, north Queensland, damaged by Cyclone Ita, April 14, 2014.

ABC News: Jessica Nairn

A horticulture lobby group says it's too early to tell what impact Cyclone Ita will have on tomato supply.

About half the crops in the Bowen region, the biggest winter supplier of tomatoes in Australia, have been damaged by heavy falls and flooding.

But major grower Carl Walker says it fortunately came only a third of the way into planting, and farmers have time to bounce back.

Peter Hockings, from a grower group in Bundaberg, says it's premature to make predictions about supply and prices.

"Just take a chill pill at the moment and let's just wait and see what the actual results are," he said.

"Bear in mind, there's very large growing regions protected cropping, so there's a lot of greenhouse-grown tomatoes around the country - not quite as susceptible to climatic conditions as field-grown tomatoes."